fire bucky gleason

We took a bit of a break here at Fire Bucky Gleason, because Bucky spent time at the Olympics and then, for reasons not entirely clear (to anyone), he was assigned to cover Syracuse's flame out NCAA tournament appearance. Thanks to that we had to endure a pretty dry spell, at least in terms of Bucky's Sabres commentary. Well, March Madness has ended, Bucky no longer has any reason to get indignant over the mistreatment of our ski jumping program, and the Sabres happen to be marching toward the playoffs. But, of course, nobody's excited about it. Because, as we've detailed here, the Sabres suck.

In the dressing room afterward, they proudly donned caps commemorating the Northeast Division title and enjoyed the moment if only for a short time. At 9:47 p.m., Ryan Miller glanced at the clock and announced he had 2 hours and 13 minutes, until midnight, to celebrate before getting back to work.

Borderline irrelevant sidenote to the entire NHL season: the Sabres have won the Northeast Division.

The Sabres all season have emphasized the need to temper their emotions in good times and bad. Miller, their franchise goaltender and primary source of hope, wasn't about to go overboard Tuesday night after they clinched the division with a convincing 5-2 victory over the New York Rangers.

The New York Rangers are captained by Chris Drury.

"It's a stop along the way," he said. "In baseball, they win the pennant and everybody goes crazy with champagne at the end. I never understood it. We have our hats and T-shirts, smile and have a little fun, crank a little music. You have to take time to say it feels good, but we're not going to be satisfied."

Pretty reasonable quote from Miller (assuming it's Miller talking and not just Bucky making things up again.

It explains why the Sabres weren't overly jubilant after the game, but they understood this season has been nothing to sneer at, either. Division titles don't come around often in this town. The Sabres won their division just six times in 40 years since joining the NHL. Overall, it has been a pretty good season.

Get the sense we're in the midst of another shining example of Bucky's persuasive writing? I do. "The Sabres have, overall, played well. They've done something relatively rare, and deserve to be patted on the back. So, in conclusion, they suck."

Funny, but the Sabres' rise in the division and flirtation with the top of the conference has been met mostly with disenchantment or guarded optimism. HSBC Arena often felt like a morgue before coming to life Tuesday night. The irrepressible buzz that comes with a playoff team has been mysteriously absent.

It's been met "mostly" with "disenchantment or guarded optimism" because they've had a playoff spot wrapped up since January, and Ottawa gifted them the division in the first week of March. Will someone¹ please remind everyone that Buffalo hasn't had to play a hockey game with any actual legitimate meaning since Christmas? Please? The "irrepressible buzz" isn't mysteriously absent. We have to suffer through three completely pointless regular season games before the playoffs start. Why get excited about the playoffs now, when we still have to endure 180 minutes of throwaway hockey? Saying the fans aren't excited about playoff hockey because there isn't a "buzz" is like saying your kid's not excited about Christmas because he's not bouncing off the walls on Christmas Eve.

My sense is that this isn't a Buffalo sports thing, where fans are reluctant to climb aboard because they fear getting their hearts broken. They simply haven't been able to trust the Sabres' success, haven't been overly impressed and aren't about to shower the organization with praise until it's worthy.

Northeast Division title, toying with second overall in the conference. At least one win against nearly every top team in the league. All-world goaltender, plus a Calder trophy candidate on the blue line AND promising rookies for next year. The team seems pretty worthy of praise to me.

The Sabres released 2,000 playoff tickets for sale on Monday. In the first season after the lockout, when they showed more promise despite finishing second in the division, the tickets would have been gone in about 15 minutes. There were still a few available Tuesday.

This isn't apples to oranges, this is apples to chocolate ice cream. Playoff tickets sold out quick in 2006 because we had just had a full season of hockey stolen from us because the owners and players are stupid. Also, the economy was in a much better state than it is now. But way to take one small, marginally applicable fact and essentially use it as the basis for your entire argument.

See, you can't fool Buffalo fans.

Sure you can. You've been fooling them into thinking their team sucks since October.

The Sabres have a 16-14-6 record since Jan. 9. They have seven wins in 20 games over teams that were still in the playoffs Tuesday night. We're not talking about a little hiccup here. Thirty-six games is a large enough sample size, especially in the second half of the season, to create doubt.

First, hat tip to Fire Joe Morgan. I think those guys single-handedly inserted "sample size" into the modern sports lexicon. More importantly, Bucky, while "correct" is also a cherry picking bastard. He picked the 36 games that prove his point while ignoring the previous two (both wins, of course) that would round out the whole "second half of the season."

Also, there is no qualitative analysis. Just a random mention of "sample size" to make it look official, plus reference to ominous stats. Two can play that game, friend. Over the course of the entire season (a bigger sample size), Buffalo has collected wins against each of the top two teams in each conference. You know who has lost all twelve games against those same teams? Nobody important.

Plus, every single effing team has room for doubt. When has there ever been a team that could say "Hey, these playoffs are a mere formality. Just give us the Cup." Never.

Just know they have the X factor in Miller, who had fans on their feet in the second period Tuesday when he robbed Marian Gaborik with a ridiculous blocker save that warranted time in the state pen. (legal metaphor tag!) It was the kind of stop that reassured people that anything can happen if he gets on a roll in the postseason.

So, the Sabres suck, but even sucky teams can accomplish something too. Stay tuned, I guess.

Remember, too, that winning in the playoffs is a learning process. It often takes a few years before players understand how to play under pressure. They need to regain that experience, from their veterans down to their good young players, knowing they're onto something special in the coming years.

Regain what experience? I thought you had to learn it, and we don't have it, so wouldn't we have to "gain" that experience? If we already have it, which "regain" suggests we do, we should be good to go. What the hell?

Sabres managing partner Larry Quinn said a few years ago that the master plan called for winning the Cup and giving Buffalo its first major sports championship. He didn't have a specific timetable, which always makes you curious,

No it doesn't. It makes sense. Why the hell would you put out a specific timetable? "We're going to win the Cup within five years, book it." You look like every other idiot who makes guarantees in sports.

but common sense suggested it would take four or five years. This is the third season.

So, we're right smack dab in the middle of a rebuilding process. Not only should we be excited about how well they're playing now, we should also be excited about how well we could be playing next year or the year after.

The buzz should return in the first round. Perhaps they can gain some momentum if they reach the second round. You would certainly like their chances with Miller if they somehow played in the conference finals. There's also the likelihood, after watching them for the past three months, of them being eliminated in the first round.

Wooo! Prediction central!! The Sabres may reach the second round. Or maybe they'll play in the conference finals. Or may they'll get eliminated in the first round. Any more bold prognostications there Nostradamus? How about "the Sabres will play hockey later next week" or "at some point, during their first round match-up, one of the teams will score a goal." This qualifies as compensable sports commentary and analysis?

For now, tip your cap to them and enjoy the moment while you can.

I'm going to enjoy it for a while. Only one team wins the Cup, only one team gets to skate on into the offseason sunset happy. I hate this bizarre "second place is the first loser" mentality that says because you didn't win it all your entire season was pretty much a waste and we should all really shoot ourselves. The Sabres have played well this year, and I've had fun watching them. Why should I get all bent out of shape because the Sabres may (gasp!) lose in the playoffs?? I've been buzzing about the playoffs since Buffalo started strong out of the gate, and can't wait for it to start. Bring it on, it's going to be one hell of a ride. I'm ready.

¹ - Besides me.

fire bucky gleason, more dumb micro-analysis edition

I really hope Buffalo finally breaks its funk against the Ottawa Senators. In part because I really hate Ottawa, but mostly because I'm sick of hearing everybody harping about how lousy we are when we play Ottawa. By losing 3-2¹ we get subjected to drivel like this. Unfortunately, when we get to points like Friday night, Bucky gets emboldened.

I'd be lying if I didn't have my own reservations about our recent play against Ottawa. But, at the same time, every team has its foil somewhere. Another team that just gets the bounces, the battles, and the breaks, and figures you out. Bill Belichick and Tom Brady are something like 198,753-15 (this is just an estimate based on all the sports journalism I've read since 2001 on the subject) against all non-Miami Dolphins NFL teams. However, in that same span, the same guys are 10-9 against the Dolphins. It happens.

I also take solace in the fact that, playoff-wise, in our last ten games against Ottawa, we are 5-5. Of those ten games, nine (9) (!) were decided by a single solitary goal. Six of those games were settled in overtime (including one in double overtime). That doesn't sound like domination by anybody, it sounds like an exceptionally dead heat where the teams are so evenly matched it comes down to crazy things like getting a bounce or break. Nobody is clearly outworked. I know what you're thinking², "But, patrick.m³, the Sens are approximately 97-1-18 against Buffalo in the regular season since the lockout." Fine. You are correct, you fatalistic "glass-is-only-a-quarter-full" fan so typical of those in and around Buffalo. The reality is that the NHL regular season is a completely different animal than the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. More on that later.

michael.w got to this first because I had sick kids all weekend. My comments are in italics because I'm better looking.

Patrick Kaleta wasted no time Friday night proving he's capable of dropping more than F- bombs. Our lovable local favorite dropped alternating overhand and uppercut bombs with his left hand on Zack Smith a few minutes into the game before dropping the Ottawa rookie to his knees in a heap.

What the hell does this have to with flaming out in the playoffs?

In what is becoming his post-scrap custom at home, the winger waved his arms on his way to the penalty box in a plea to his neighbors to bring more energy and raise the roof in HSBC Arena. Kaleta should have made an about face and summoned for more from the players sitting on his own bench.

Custom? This is exactly the second time Kaleta has done this. Last week, I twice had a roast beef sandwich for lunch instead of turkey. I guess a roast beef sandwich is now my "custom" sandwich. And why should he have turned to the Sabres bench? Isn't the standard cliche in hockey that fight energizes the team, sans turning and summoning more from the players on his own bench?

"It gives you that extra ounce of energy, that extra boost, and the fans are cheering and the atmosphere picks up. Then, we're ready to go," Kaleta said. "We played pretty well in certain areas, but we could have played a little bit better, a little more fearless and with a little more determination. That fight was trying to get something going."

At this count we are through three paragraphs of Patrick Kaleta masturbation and not a single mention of the Sabres and playoff possibilities.

[Ed's Note: I'd also like to point out that Bucky devoted a full paragraph of quotes attributable to Patrick Kaleta, none of which actually said, you know, anything.]

It clearly wasn't enough, but at least Kaleta gave it a whirl.

I thought he didn't "give it a whirl." Only focusing on the crowd and not the much needed attention that bench required. As an aside, isn't it the job of Lindy Ruff to keep the players on their toes and motivated, not the team agitator?

[Ed's Note: It's not Lindy's fault. Thomas Vanek Vanish doesn't care about the fans, and just loafs through everything. He definitely does NOT park himself in front of the net and get brutally assaulted to score any of his goals. The only players that do care about the fans (and, therefore, the only players who the fans should care about) are Miller, Myers, Kennedy, Kaleta, and (presumably) Grier.]

The Sabres had an opportunity to clinch a playoff berth Friday night, a formality that will take place with a victory tonight over Tampa Bay or at some point soon. They're almost certain to win the division. They have the best goaltender in the league in Ryan Miller.

[Ed's Note: This is Bucky's attempt at persuasive writing... line up everything that goes against what you believe. The Sabres have accumulated so many points their playoff spot, even without clinching, was all but guaranteed. They are "almost certain" to win the division, despite giving Ottawa ten points in the five games they've played so far (and only earning, like, two). They have the "best goaltender in the league", which is actually a gross understatement. Ryan Miller was named tournament MVP at the Olympics. Therefore, he is the best player in the world.]

But is anybody really convinced a contending team is in our midst?

Yes. They have the best goaltender in the league. And I seem to recall that having the best goaltender in the league can often cover the blemishes of a sub par team, particularly come playoff time. And yes, I picked this picture of Hasek because it makes fun of Flyers fans.

[Ed's Note: I should hope people are convinced this team can "contend." I'm not saying we'll win the Cup. That's a longshot, I admit. But name me one "contending" team that has above average goaltending. Washington rotates between Varlamov and Theodore, so hopefully their offense can carry them. Though we saw in 2007 that an electric offense in the regular season don't mean squat come playoff time. Chicago is slumping, and has to rely on Huet. Luongo is slumping. Brodeur is about 97. The Sharks are, well, the Sharks. Pittsburgh will be addressed later. So, yeah, since you asked, I'm convinced. We have a shot. There are better teams out there, but the team that wins the Cup isn't necessarily the best. It's the one that manages 16 wins in the playoffs, however earned.]

Uh, no.

Yes, this man is a professional writer. Only he can come up with literary beauty like the preceding sentence.

[Ed's Note: Persuasive writing at its finest. "You know all those things that contradict the point I'm trying to make? Uh, ignore them." I'm sure Bucky will follow this thesis (which, I might add, we don't get until almost a third of the way through this nonsense) with evidence and argument in support of his main premise.]

And that has been the issue of late, even when the Sabres rattled off four straight victories to get into position to wrap up a playoff spot. They have a good team,

[Ed's Note: I'd just like to remind everyone that Bucky is trying to tell us all that the Sabres suck and have no chance at winning the Cup. So far his primary (by which I mean "only") support here is that 1. the Sabres recently won four games in a row and 2. have a good team.]

but they're not scaring anyone with their mediocre play over the past two months. The Senators certainly aren't worried about them, not after a 4-2 victory for their ninth straight win over the Sabres.

But they're winning. Who cares? Perhaps, seeing their comfortable spot in the standing, the Sabres have either intentionally or unintentionally set everything on cruise control knowing the two month grind of the playoffs is ahead of them.

[Ed's Note: Quite the juxtaposition here. The Sabres have just won four in a row, but are not scaring anyone with their mediocre play. Two things here: first, assuming Bucky is correct, we should be pleased that they're winning games with sheer mediocrity. Imagine what will happen in the playoffs if they don't play mediocre. Second, is that Bucky is not correct. But, he's a person paid to professionally offer insight and commentary on sports (particularly hockey). He can't be wrong.]

The Sabres had an opportunity to lock up the playoffs against a team that has given them problems, but they treated much of the game like some Tuesday game against Columbus in November.

It was a Friday game against Ottawa in March. Not a game in April, May or June, which actually would be an important game, regardless of opponent.

[Ed's Note: I'd like to point out that a Tuesday game against Columbus in November is worth the exact same amount of points as a Friday game against Ottawa in March. Also, what the hell does the day of the week have to do with anything? Seriously?]

Here's a disturbing stat: since Feb. 1, the Sabres have one regulation victory over a team currently in the playoffs. It was against a San Jose team that was finishing off a road trip and was running for the bus before the Olympics. Otherwise, it has been a string of mostly mediocre play, good fortune and poor opponents.

Nice job adding a thousand prerequisites. February was a month shortened by half because of the Olympic break. Good sample size.

[Ed's Note: Qualify qualify qualify. Let's see, the Sabres are 9-5-1 since the Olympic break. The Sabres beat Boston (a team currently in the playoffs) last night, which was admittedly after this steaming of pile of journalism was published. Four wins came against down and out teams (also known as "teams with absolutely nothing to lose"). Two other wins came against Eastern playoff teams (Philly and Montreal), including an overtime win against the Flyers. You do realize that overtime goals, and therefore overtime wins, count in the playoffs right? Only the Canadiens game was won in a shootout. Of those five losses, three were by one goal (all to teams in the playoffs, or desperate to make the playoffs at the time), plus the "two goal" loss to Ottawa, and a two goal loss to Washington. So, yeah, this reeks of mediocrity. Especially from a team that, once Ottawa (remember them) stumbled out of the break to the tune of 1-7-1, had roughly nothing to play for.]

The problem Friday night wasn't effort alone. It also was execution. They fired 43 shots at Sens goalie Brian Elliott, but most came from the outside until the third period. Jason Pominville made it interesting when he snapped home a wrister from the left circle early in the third period, but that was it.

[Ed's Note: Prove that "most" of the shots came from the outside. Seriously. Prove it. 43 shots is a lot of effing shots. The Sabres put 17 on net in the first period alone. Brian Elliott made some big saves. It happens.]

Thomas Vanek could have tied the game midway through the third, but his slap shot from between the circles on a breakaway rang off the post. Tough luck. Elliott made several big saves for Ottawa. Buffalo dominated most of the final period but ultimately it wasn't enough against a division rival that's behind them in the standings.

WOW! Got a long way before the sports cliches about effort and execution were dusted off. And dammit Thomas Vanek! You suck. In any event, congratulations on being the first NHL player to ever hit the post on a breakaway.

[Ed's Note: Seriously, cut Vanek. Trade him for a bag of pucks. Thanks to Vanek, shooters on breakaways are now 1,098,764/1,098,765 in terms of scoring production. To quote Charlie Conway, "if he was three inches to the left, he would've missed entirely." What a loser.]

If there's a positive they can take from the game Friday, it's that the Senators' win pushed them three points ahead of Montreal for fifth place in the conference, decreasing the chances of Buffalo meeting Ottawa in the first round.

Something we actually agree on. In sports, sometimes a team has another's number, regardless of record. It happens. Better to have Ottawa eliminated by Pittsburgh.

If Buffalo is going to be taken seriously in the postseason, it must figure out a way to get through teams like Ottawa.

Didn't you say immediately before this that they would not have to face Ottawa?

[Ed's Note: Name me another team "like Ottawa." What you want to say is "because we can't beat Ottawa, we suck and can never contend for a Cup." So say that. Now we have to worry about teams "like" Ottawa, even though you don't suggest any team dominates Buffalo like Ottawa does. You know who should be worried? Pittsburgh. The Pens are 0-8-1 against New Jersey and Washington this year, and are likely to meet one (or both) in the playoffs. The Sabres, by comparison, are 3-4 against the Devils and Capitals. Not great, but not winless. But, because we all must kneel at the altar of Crosby, Pens = contender, Sabres = sad pathetic jerks who have no business even suiting up in a playoff game.]

The Sabres have tried passing it off as just one of those strange things in sports. Sorry, but nine straight losses to the same team over two seasons can't be dismissed as some crazy fluke.

It is one of those crazy things in sports. Do you watch sports?

[Ed's Note: To help make sense of this, I'm going to substitute Pittsburgh. "The Penguins have tried passing it off as just one of those strange things in sports. Sorry, but nine straight losses to two top conference teams in the same season can't be dimissed as some crazy fluke."]

The Sabres can look at their record through 73 games and be satisfied, but they're kidding themselves if they think they can make any noise in the postseason in their current state.

Why should they be satisfied? And what current state should we be worried about, the state that had them, just two nights earlier scrap and claw their way to win against a playoff team when they were clearly outplayed? Of course, it is Bucky perhaps he just means the state of New York.

"It's not a fluke. Very rarely is it a fluke," Paul Gaustad said. "It's us committing 60 minutes against these guys. We can't be scared. We have to go after them. They paid attention to details, and we didn't. Enough is enough. We have to beat teams like this to get past any round in the playoffs. We have to be better, and we have to prove it."

Diligent reporter obtains cliched quotes from athlete: Check.

[Ed's Note: A paragraph attributed this time to Paul Gaustad, who, like Patrick Kaleta before him, says basically nothing.]

Lindy Ruff knows darned well the jury is still out on his team, and deep down he has questions of his own about them. Ruff suggested Friday morning that they can beat anybody in the East when they play their game, but he's not really sure. In fact, anybody predicting how the Sabres' will respond in the postseason is merely taking a guess based on old evidence.

The jury (here we go with legal references again) is still out on all of the teams that will make the playoffs. For instance, if the Caps run the table and win it all, they will validate their regular season dominance. If they fall anywhere short of a Cup, they choke. That's how it works in sports. Play the result and look like an expert after the fact. Oh and basing something on evidence, old, new or in between, is the exact opposite of guessing.

[Ed's Note: In light of Bucky's continued legal references, I am creating the legal metaphor tag.]

Vanek played well the last time they were in the postseason, for example, but he was a third-line winger who avoided lines designed specifically to stop him. Same goes for Derek Roy. Tim Connolly played only 24 playoff games in his first nine seasons. Six players on the roster have played none. Drew Stafford played 10 as a rookie.

And Brad Lidge was a perennial playoff choke artist, based on old evidence related guessing. Then, in 2008, he was perfect all through the post-season and led the Phillies to World Series and became "clutch." Then in 2009 he basically stunk again and everyone (playing the result) said they knew he would blow because he did so often in the past. See also Cole Hamels.

[Ed's Note: Alex Rodriguez is instructive here. Pre-2009, A-Rod sucked. He never won a title. He wasn't clutch. He wasn't a True Yankee. He lacked a certain "Jetery" quality. He was overpaid and undertalented, and would never win the big one. Not even for the Yankees. Now? He's a clutch superstars with a Ring. It's all stupid.]

The truth is it comes down to how they play over three periods. They played 58 listless minutes against the Canadiens and pulled out a victory. They've slept through the first period a few times and won. They didn't play well for the first two periods Friday, and they paid a price with a playoff berth waiting.

In the end, they failed to put up a strong enough fight.

And clinched the berth exactly one night after, so who cares?

[Ed's Note: What price did they pay, besides not fulfilling their end of a bizarre grudge match that exists primarily in the minds of local fans and sports media? Ottawa didn't take the division lead (which, I might, they had outright at the beginning of this month, which Bucky says is right in the middle of Buffalo's "mediocre" stretch), and barely even closed the gap. Thanks to two wins since Friday, the Sabres' magic number is 6. Ottawa has all the pressure here, Buffalo has no pressure beyond what they put on themselves because they keep losing to the Senators.]

"We've had enough lessons here over the last month," winger Mike Grier said. "Hopefully, it will start to sink in. We've got two weeks left in the season, and they're an example of what you have to do to win games. You've got to work hard and do all the little things. We didn't do enough of that."

Wasn't Grier's presence providing "leadership" supposed to prevent all of this anyways? Maybe all those sports cliches are BS.

To summarize: the Sabres suck, will be swept in the first round so don't buy tickets and don't watch the playoff games on TV. If you do, you're dumb.

¹ - I know Daniel Alfredsson "scored" in the final second to make the official score 4-2. But since the clock read zero, I figure the goal doesn't count. If it did, there would have to be a faceoff. Not that it matters, it doesn't change the outcome, but it still seems stupid to give Alfie a free stat.

² - I've demonstrated this before, don't be alarmed.

³ - Thank you for having the courtesy of using my pseudonym.

fire bucky gleason, bucky gleason makes noncommital predictions edition

Since Bucky decided to use his most recent Inside the "NHL" to write about the Junior Sabres (who, I might add here, not only do NOT play in the NHL, but also do not feed into the NHL), we're going back in time. michael.w took on Bucky's giant hedged bet. All will be explained below. My comments in italics, because I'm wittier.

Place your left hand on the Bible and raise your right hand before answering this question, understanding you could face charges of perjury: Did you think before the season began that the Buffalo Sabres would be sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference today, Jan. 10, 2010?

I have to take an oath now to read your column? Fine. I am certain that my natural reaction to whatever you say will be honest, and not subject me to perjury charges pursuant to Penal Law Sect. 210.15.

[Ed's Note: Between this and all the nonsense about "legal testimony and hard evidence" for the 20 Cent fiasco, what is this obsession with criminal procedure?]

Well, um, not, gee, uh ...

Good heavens, no.

Nice to see Bucky's fake lawyering is as bad as his fake reporting. Way to prep your witness.

For what it's worth, I picked

Nothing. The words "I picked" in reference to Bucky predictions translates to "Ignore the Following."

them to finish eighth in the conference with the idea they were capable of finishing anywhere between sixth and 10th. Nobody of sound hockey mind would have predicted the Sabres charging to the top of the division and challenging for the NHL's best record.

Translation: Since I would not have predicted this, no one would have. And what is "sixth and 10th." Isn't it better practice to go with either "sixth and tenth" or "6th and 10th." Either way, but it isn't like you are shortening one million, nine hundred thousand, nine hundred and ninety nine to 1,900,999.

[Ed's Note: This is high school English. Back in like ninth grade I was taught that any rank, such as first, third, sixth, tenth, etc, is to be spelled out up to twentieth. Starting with 21st you use numbers. So, once again, Bucky fails high school grammar. Well done.]

But there they were Saturday, with a 10-point lead over the Bruins in the division, chasing their seventh straight victory and trying to track down New Jersey for the top spot in the conference.

So perhaps the people who picked them, to choose at random, between 6th and 10th don't know what they hell they are talking about.

The Sabres are evolving into a great story in the NHL, the kind that leads championship-starved Buffalo fans to fantasize about winning that elusive first major sports title.

While I just fantasize about Tyler Myers.

[Ed's Note: This still makes me angry. Why do the Bills' two AFL titles not count? The Yankees and their fans like to masturbate about "27 rings," while like 24 of them were won before 1950, when there were only about three pro baseball teams and only white guys were allowed to play, (or, to stay on-sport, the Canadiens boast 24 cups when fourteen of those were won before the NHL expanded beyond six teams, including one before the NHL even existed). If fans get to take pride in all that garbage, Bills fans can brag about a pair of AFL titles in the 60s.]

At least the Sabres have given people reason to believe, evidence that the communal hum you hear lately can turn into a Buffalo-style hockey buzz.

Communal? Great. The Sabres winning ways are turning us into communists.

Only a monumental collapse would prevent the Sabres from making the playoffs this season.

One of Bucky's favorite things in that sentence: Verbal Sleight of Hand. Giving himself an out if they don't win and he can say, "See, I predicted the monumental collapse."

They have the goaltending, defense, depth and balance to make things interesting come April.

Sounds like they could be favored.

Enjoy the ride while it lasts with tempered emotion, knowing full well that it's much too early to start talking about anything past the first round of the playoffs.

Verbal Sleight of Hand, Part II

The Sabres' ascension has been so businesslike,
They wear suits on the ice
punctuated by a six-game blitz
terribly misplaced football metaphor
that ended Saturday night with a 4-3 shootout loss to the Avalanche, that it was almost overlooked in Buffalo amid all the moaning about the sorry football team across town that provided entertainment in a comedic sense only.

Of all the games in the "blitz" the loss is the one you want to highlight? Neither of the three goal comebacks qualify. As an aside, having attended numerous Bills' games this season, I can conclude Bucky and I have very different senses of humor, because I found nothing comedic in the Bills' games. In fact, they were generally unwatchable.

We'll see if the Sabres are for real.

Verbal Sleight of Hand, Part III

It's a good team, certainly,
This sounds like Verbal Sleight of Hand, Part IV
but I'm reluctant to suggest they're anything more no matter their ascension in the standings.

Yep.

I've been around this block with a few teases over the years. We're still in January, and 38 games remain on the schedule, plus the Olympic break.

Very nice. I just wrote about the superior goaltending, defensive depth and balance. So in conclusion, they suck.

[Ed's Note: Buffalo Sports Professional logic at its finest... the Sabres have a good team, but suck because they've never won a Super Bowl or Stanley Cup. You want to know why there's no communal hum, moron? Because morons like you keep writing moronic things about how lousy the team is, despite mounting an outside challenge for the President's Trophy. You're essentially Randy Quaid in Major League II, saying (as the Indians clinch a playoff berth) "Who cares? They're gonna blow it in the playoffs."]

The Sabres had an off night Saturday and twice trailed by two goals. But there was a sense after Thomas Vanek scored in the third period that they would find a way to tie it. Sure enough, Jochen Hecht sent a wrist shot through a screen that found a hole. Was there any doubt they would at least steal a point?

You mean aside from within the mind of Bucky Gleason?

[Ed's Note: Not in my mind.
**BUFFALO NEWS BLASPHEMY WARNING**
These guys actually kind of remind me of the 2005-06/2006-07 teams. Turn the game off at your own risk, because who knows what may happen. Even if they're down by four.]

For a variety of reasons, this is a different team. It's more competitive and mentally tougher even though they have a majority of players who made up their soft, fragile team from the previous two years.

PHEW!!!!! I was worried we would get through a whole column without the mental toughness cliches

I think they learned plenty from missing the playoffs twice by narrow margins.

If one were restricted to reading this paper, they would learn they missed the playoffs by not resigning Chris Drury, Daniel Briere and Brian Campbell.

And to think Buffalo could have been in first place in the conference this morning with a win Saturday and a loss by New Jersey. Pittsburgh and Washington aren't going away, and both teams have more talent across their roster than Buffalo does.

Pittsburgh does mainly because they have Brooks Orpik and he's from Buffalo.

If the Sabres are serious about winning the Stanley Cup, they will need to address their shortcomings at the NHL trade deadline. They still need a defenseman who can quarterback the power play, a true No. 1 center, more pop along their top two lines and more backbone along the blue line.

So the defensive depth, goaltending and balance within a few paragraphs have now become irrelevant? Also, a defenseman who can quarterback the power play, a number one center, more pop in the top two lines and more backbone along the blueline translates to: All new players.

And what's more, EVERY NHL TEAM COULD USE: A defenseman who can quarterback the power play, a number one center, more pop in the top two lines and more backbone along the blueline.

One true test begins this week when they play seven straight road games against teams that entered Saturday night with a combined 161-112-36 record, including four games on the West Coast and another in Phoenix. Come back from the roadie with 10 points and no major injuries, and it could be time to get serious about making a deal for a rental.

Verbal Sleight of Hand, Part V. They have one of the NHL's best records, but they haven't been tested. In fact, they have only played local bar league teams, so their record is vastly inflated.

Regardless, there's no taking away the 28 wins and 60 points the Sabres earned through the first 44 games.

But dammit I did my best to try.

[Ed's Note: And since I couldn't take that away, I'll simply decide to ignore them entirely. After all, despite the Sabres having three games in hand, the Senators are ONLY SEVEN POINTS AWAY!! AHHHHHHH!!!!]

They're on pace for 112 points. Last season, they were given little mercy for could've, should've games they lost. They can't be vilified this year for games they should've lost but won.

[Ed's Note: Why would anyone vilify¹ them for winning games they shouldn't? You screwed this up, moron. In your seemingly infinite moronitude, you got so caught up in slamming last year's team you effed up the back-handed compliment to this year's team. You meant to say "they can't be vilified this year for games they should've won but lost." But you didn't, because you're a moron.]

Ryan Miller is single-handedly responsible for a half-dozen victories this season, maybe more. Their so-called star players have been mostly average but are gaining momentum.

Again, I thought we couldn't take away from them the wins they have in hand.

Rookie defenseman Tyler Myers has more points than Thomas Vanek

As of the date of my retort, that is no longer the case, and Vanek has played five fewer games. [Ed's Note: This was true for, like, a day. Also, who freakin' cares?? We're winning.]

They won back-to-back games after trailing by three goals.
Nice that you noticed
Tim Connolly took a three-week snooze before waking up.
How long has Tim Kennedy's snooze been? [Ed's Note: Also, Connolly is now threatening the Sabres' team record for most consecutive games with a point. He's at fifteen, the record is eighteen. In a related story, Bucky hasn't eaten anything in three weeks.]

One way or another, they've been winning, or finding ways to scratch out points when it appears, as it did Saturday, none was available.

More Verbal Sleight of Hand. They are winning, but shouldn't be because they suck

They have the best goalie in the league this season in Miller. Their team defense is considerably better than it was last year.
Yet still need better defensemen, as stated above
Newcomers Mike Grier and Steve Montador injected leadership and toughness
But more importantly, given analysts carte blanche to use those cliches
while bringing a professional approach that has kept their teammates on an even keel.

Myers has been the second-best player on the roster behind Miller. Fellow rookie Tim Kennedy has given them the crusty, prickly edge that had been lacking, a solid checking-line center and another inventive forward.
But when he never scores, it isn't a result of a snooze.
The Sabres have more bite, more snarl that comes from competitiveness, builds confidence and leads to stronger chemistry.

OK, this really appears to be a set-up for even more Verbal Sleight of Hand

And they're also benefiting from a weaker division than last season.
Indeed it was
Montreal has played better lately but still hasn't come together after revamping the roster in the offseason. Boston and Ottawa are banged up. Toronto is a mess. Surprise, surprise, the division is there for the taking.

Now, raise your hand and answer this question: Will the Sabres be in second place or higher in the conference when the season ends April 11?

So let me try to sum this up:
The Sabres have a great record, numerous players having good seasons, but, they need a roster full of new players to be good, they have played crappy teams and if they don't win it all, I can come back and say "See, I told you they sucked"

So, I, in one run-on sentence did what Bucky did in one run-on column.

¹ - Thank you, Roget's.

new look, same great taste

For those of you who came here often (also known as "my parents"), you may notice a few changes around here. I decided to change the title from something as arrogant as "Because I Said So" to "Unconventional Wisdom," mainly because the blog has developed into something far more interesting than random, pointless thoughts about the banality that is the life of some dude in Buffalo. Instead it's random, pointless comments on the idiocy of guys that write for the Buffalo News. "Unconventional Wisdom" comes from the fact that hating Tim Connolly, Darcy Regier, Thomas Vanek, Jason Pominville, and Jochen Hecht¹, among others are hated evil beings that don't even qualify as human is "conventional" and "rational" around here. As you may have gathered, "conventional wisdom" is really a translation for "acute stupidity" and gets called out. So, in order to talk some sense into folks (which is kind of stupid, since the only people who read this already agree with me), we're championing the unconventional wisdom. Not the Bill Belichick going for it on 4th and 2 with two minutes to go against Peyton "freaking" Manning kind of unconventional wisdom (which didn't work, and was a stupid call regardless of what any made up "odds" say), but rather the Mike McCarthy unexpected onsides kick call in the playoffs kind of unconventional. Sure, unconventional wisdom requires a bit of a gamble, but not a foolish all-or-nothing. That's what we preach around here.

Without further adieu, Bucky's most recent Inside the NHL serves as an unrivaled epitome as to why he should be frequent radio call-in character "Bucky from South Buffalo" and not a person paid to share his comments about professional hockey, or sports in general, with the world.

First, a bit of context. Recently, during a Penguins/Flyers game, a decidedly conclusive replay on a disputed goal scored by the visiting Flyers did not make it to Toronto for video review. As a result, the goal is waived. The outcome of the game wasn't affected². But, seeing as how the home arena production team is responsible for providing the replay "booth" with the camera angles it needs, somebody screwed up and therefore somebody needed to get reprimanded. Read on, and you'll see who shouldn't have taken the heat, and I'm sure you'll never guess why.

A goal is disallowed in Pittsburgh because the Penguins' broadcast team fails to produce a conclusive angle showing the puck crossing the line. It becomes available after play resumes, making it too late to reverse.

Two thoughts right off the bat: first, that this is a pretty colossal mistake. It calls into question the entire integrity of replay if some broken arrow can manipulate it like this, which thereby calls into question the integrity of the NHL as whole (though I've noticed the NHL doesn't really seem to care about its integrity of late, so long as they're Expanding the Game or some other such nonsense). Second, why the hell would you SHOW the replay once play resumes??? I'm not one for sweeping things under the rug, but at that point it's too late. By subsequently showing you had the information the officials needed, but didn't share it, you might as well add "Nah nah nah nah nah" as the soundtrack while the clip plays.

And that's a television producer's way of sticking it to those dastardly Flyers?

Remember, so far all he's done is describe a very significant blunder on the part of the Pittsburgh broadcast team. No context, no nothing. Just said that they screwed up big, and a Flyers goal was waived off.

Sorry, this one doesn't add up.

Phew! Thanks for that! I hate thinking!

The Flyers' conspiracy theory might appear reasonable from the outside,

Perhaps because we've been provided no other explanation, and trying to screw a cross-state rival is just as a likely a reason as professional oversight.

but there's one critical element that was overlooked when Fox Sports Network Pittsburgh producer Lowell MacDonald was suspended indefinitely for the botched replay:

Any guesses as to what's so critical that it should change the result for the guy in charge of the broadcast? Would you say that it was a deliberate and clandestine maneuver by a diehard Penguins fan working the video feed, such that MacDonald didn't (and couldn't) know until it was too late? Would you say the link to Toronto inexplicably went dead, thereby denying the replay booth the footage it needed? You would? You're wrong.

his integrity and professionalism.

I'll give you one guess, and only one guess, as to where Lowell MacDonald may have worked before Pittsburgh. And I'll give you one guess, and only one guess, as to who he may have been nice to while he was there.

MacDonald, 45, worked the Sabres' broadcasts for years and lived in Orchard Park

I'll give you a moment to collect yourself from the floor...

Back? Good. Moving on...

before leaving for ESPN and eventually landing in Pittsburgh, where he was raised. He's a class act in an oft-seedy business.

So, the guy in charge of sending the replays to the replay officials is working for his hometown team. And works in an "oft-seedy business," which clearly insinuates³ that the characters MacDonald works with would withhold a conclusive replay. So far Bucky's defense of his friend consists of two big strikes against the guy.

He's a former Division I player at Colgate, the son of the former Penguins player with the same name, and knows the game. He has an impeccable reputation for his honesty, character and work ethic.

This is a good guy, not a cheater.

After working against Lowell MacDonald, Bucky then goes on the defensive by saying, essentially, Lowell MacDonald couldn't have done this because Lowell MacDonald is a nice guy.

"I've known Lowell for years and worked closely with him," former Sabres analyst Jim Lorentz said last week by telephone. "He's the best producer I ever worked for. He's very quiet and low key, very intense and takes his job very seriously. It's why he's one of the best. It's not an accident that he worked for ESPN."

This time a quote, but still completely irrelevant. We still have not yet been provided any information mitigating MacDonald's involvement. Again, he appears to have been in charge of the broadcast. A mistake like this falls to him, regardless of who was directly responsible. For example, Tom Brady threw too early and Kevin Faulk didn't get the yardage he needed on 4th and 2. But Bill Belichick takes the heat. That's how it works. That's why the guy in charge gets paid more.

If you knew MacDonald, you would conclude with certainty that he made a mistake.

This was against the rules, of course it was a mistake. I don't need to know Lowell MacDonald to know that he screwed up. Just like I don't need to be a sophisticated music critic to know that the clowns they roll out on the first few episodes of American Idol really suck at singing.

Not a mistake in moral judgment, mind you, just a mistake. I'm not sure exactly what happened with the replay or why it wasn't produced in a timely manner.

Which makes your entire defense COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT. We have not been provided any explanation. Deliberate obstruction of the replay process is currently as valid as gross negligence.

Television types often describe broadcasts as controlled chaos littered with gaffes.

This I understand, but in this particular circumstance you have all the time you need to get it right. How many cameras are going at once? A dozen? Is there only one guy in the booth looking at them all? And even then, it's just your job to pass them along, NOT decide which ones get sent.

MacDonald's reputation has been tarnished by an undertone that his motive was giving the Penguins an advantage.

Because, as of right now, that's just as a likely a careless snafu.

Would he intentionally put his career on the line for a lopsided game in January?

Maybe. What do the Penguins' ratings look like right now? They've been playing pretty crappy lately.

Get an advantage for a team that won the Stanley Cup, is among the best in the league and doesn't need any help from a TV producer?

No way. It doesn't make sense.

Again, Penguins. Crappy. At the time of the review, they were mired in an eight game slump (2-6-0) and on their way to 7 losses in their last nine. What they did last June is completely irrelevant at this point.

"He's a very honest guy," Lorentz said. "In terms of him ever doing anything malicious or to highlight another team is absolutely absurd. He has my full support. I don't think there's an ounce of maliciousness in him."

Great. That's likely true. However, his team still screwed up. Majorly.

The replay in question was the overhead view of Simon Gagne scoring. The play was being reviewed in Toronto, so why officials there didn't demand the overhead view before play resumed is a mystery. It speaks to flaws in the NHL's replay system, not the producer of the broadcast.

Maybe they "demand" the overhead view, but (try this one on) were told it was unavailable. If that's true, the "flaws" in the replay system relate to broadcast producers completely stripping it of any integrity.

Sure enough, after the Flyers demanded action, people were quick to assume that MacDonald's position with FSN Pittsburgh trumped common sense. It's hogwash.

Um, what? I have no idea what you're saying here.

His name has been dragged through various media outlets by people who either don't know him or never met him.

And here. I'm not trying to tear the guy down, but he made a very very big mistake. Or somebody under his control did. He hasn't come forward to say what happened, so we assume the worst. If there's another side to this story, tell it. Don't just say it's impossible for this dude to do something wrong, and to do something wrong on purpose.

FSN Pittsburgh, rather than admit human error and stand up for its employee, handed down a stiff penalty.

As they should. It sends a message, and I bet Toronto will get direct live feeds of Pittsburgh's cameras from now on, including days on which the Penguins aren't actually playing.

"There is nothing more important than the integrity of the game," FSN Pittsburgh said in a statement. "During [the Jan. 7] game against the Philadelphia Flyers, a definitive replay of a Flyers goal was not aired prior to the conclusion of the official review and, as a result, a Flyers goal was not awarded.

"Fortunately, this did not change the outcome of the game. Nonetheless, FSN Pittsburgh's failure to provide video to the league officials in a timely fashion was wholly unacceptable. FSN Pittsburgh has addressed this matter and has taken steps to ensure that such a failure does not occur again."

A logical, reasoned, proportionate response to an embarrassing mistake. FSN Pittsburgh is the bad guy here?

MacDonald couldn't be reached for comment last week. My guess is he's embarrassed by the blunder, confused by the harsh reaction and uncomfortable with becoming the story rather than covering it.

This may all be true. But due to his blunder, the integrity of the game of professional hockey is now in doubt. Say something to clear the air, even if it's "You're all full of shit, leave me alone."

This isn't the time to create distance between him, as FSN Pittsburgh did, but to stand alongside him.

Was he fired? I could understand if he was. It seems severe, especially since we don't know details, but understandable nevertheless. He's brought a lot of heat on FSN Pittsburgh, and creating distance makes sense.

At least they didn't fire him.

Oh.

Something tells me he'll get his job back once the situation blows over.

Probably. By all accounts this appears to be the exception here. And, again, I don't know what happened. I do know that a very plausible explanation, as of right now, is that Lowell MacDonald hates the Flyers because he grew up in Pittsburgh and his dad was a Penguin, and realized he had an opportunity to steal a goal from them. Or, it could've been a technical difficulty.

I hate to use it twice, but, Bucky's playing this role all over again.

¹ - Especially Jochen Hecht.

² - Thankfully.

³ - Thank you Jerry Sullivan.

fire bucky gleason, really really stupid word choice edition

A recent "Inside the NHL" (which, since they let Bucky Gleason write their Inside the NHL commentary, I'm assuming the NHL they're referring to is the one on Bucky's Xbox) chat notwithstanding, Bucky's been pretty quiet. It's been like two weeks since we got anything of any substance, but why nitpick right in the middle of the season right? So, the News really needed somebody to step up in Bucky's apparent absence. Jerry Sullivan said "Hey, nobody's writing anything really dumb about the Sabres lately, so we're running the risk of missing out on our quota." Thus, we get this.

Yikes.

Keep this quiet if you can, and by all means be sure to keep your head up.

This is an article about Tim Connolly, who missed a season due to residual concussion symptoms. Which you apparently imply is his fault for not keeping his head up. Low blow.

We wouldn't want to test the fates. But Tim Connolly has played in 84 consecutive regular-season NHL games.

Which amounts to more than a full season.

This Saturday, it will be one year to the day since Connolly returned to the lineup after recovering from back and rib injuries.

Connolly is healthy and displaying the athletic gifts that have made him at once the most compelling and maddening player in recent Buffalo Sabres history.

What about that makes him maddening? Maddening because his puck possession is almost criminal? Maddening because he generates more points than any other Sabre? Maddening because he spends his down time playing lots of football on Playstation?

He set up the opening goal 23 seconds into Wednesday's 5-3 win over Tampa Bay, extending his point streak to seven games, tying his career high.

So, of late, Connolly's been playing some of the best hockey of his career? Cool.

Which is the real Tim Connolly? The one who failed to score a goal in 24 of 25 games from Halloween until just before Christmas? Or the skilled center with the feathery touch, the guy who was on the verge of stardom until a severe concussion knocked his career off the rails in the 2006 playoffs?

Oh my freaking lord. OK, so Connolly had a pair of goal scoring droughts. But going back to Halloween is shenanigans. Connolly had a four game point streak to start November, with five assists. In fact, in the whole month of November (during which the Sabres were 7-4-2 for crying out loud), Connolly had two goals, nine assists, and eleven points in those thirteen games. Yet, November was a crappy month because he only scored two goals in one game. December was a little rougher, as Connolly was 3-5-8 in 15 games. But again, in those games the Sabres were 9-4-2, so even better than November. Which begs the question, why the hell are we complaining about how often Tim Connolly is scoring goals, when during his suffocating drought the Sabres were 15-9-4 (including the loss on Halloween)?

The Sabres handed him a two-year, $9 million contract extension last March because they felt he could be that dynamic player again. It gets tiresome, waiting for Connolly to deliver on the promise.

You know what gets tiresome? Continually reading about how Sabres' players aren't delivering on their "promise" (which usually means "contract"), when the player currently "not" delivering coincidentally leads the team in assists, points, shares the team lead in goals, and leads all team forwards in plus-minus.

After awhile, it begins to seem like a tease. But this time, perhaps he has squashed the injury bug for good.

Wait, I thought we were talking about how crappy his production is. We were really talking about his injury history, which really is not Tim Connolly's fault at all?

"It's not something I really even think about," Connolly said after the morning skate. "I just go out there one game at a time and try to do what I can to help this team win at both ends of the rink and on special teams."

Nuts to that. You need to score goals sir, regardless of whether or not it means we win.

Connolly, 28, is as creative as they come on the ice, but rarely has anything profound to say off it.

Thereby making him a "hockey player."

He downplayed the notion that regaining his health has made him more willing to venture into the cluttered and combative areas of the ice, where cheap goals are scored and fragile bodies exposed.

Lindy Ruff sat Connolly down during his recent slump and said he needed to go into those "dirty" areas where so much of the scoring is done in today's constricted NHL. Ruff said Connolly has been liberated by a year of good health.

"His game has gotten a lot better the last couple of weeks, and that might be the confidence of being in on a nightly basis and not getting injured," Ruff said.

Based on his injury history, I can understand if Connolly was a little hesitant. Especially in light of his contract. He knows if he goes down there's going to be a huge firestorm because the Sabres misspent their money when they could've have Drury. Or something equally dumb.

Paul Gaustad, who has suffered his share of injuries, agreed.

"I think it's part of getting back from injury," he said. "It's mental as well as physical."

See? Goose agrees with me. And Goose rocks.

Whatever the reason, Connolly is insinuating himself into those dirty areas.

Timeout. "Insinuating"??? Really? That's your word choice? Give Bucky his thesaurus back. Now, I admit some comments managed to show your word choice is, technically, correct. But that doesn't make it right, or (even more so, actually) good. This goes back to a 100 level (in fact, it may have been English 100 in college) course I took. The class was so basic, it didn't actually offer credit towards an English degree. The professor at one point was explaining why word choice was so crucial, and how you can blow it by overthinking. His example? Trying to find a fancy word for "home." He did. It was "domicile." And, by his own admission, it made him look stupid. For instance, compare these two sentences:

-I'm tired, and I really just want to go home.
-I'm tired, and I really just want to go to my domicile.

Both are correct. Both say the same thing. One makes you sound like an arrogant pompous bag of hot wind, and one makes you a normal American English speaking human person.

So, since your editor has once again failed us (and if it weren't for the coupons, I wouldn't even subscribe to the Sunday edition of the paper), I will have to fix this sentence to make it appropriate for the tone of the column, and what you're actually trying to say:
"Whatever the reason, Connolly is insinuating himself willing to go into those dirty areas."

There. Much better.

He had a couple of tipped goals. He took a hit along the boards to set up the tying goal against Atlanta. He's shooting more. Connolly had 31 shots on goal in a 13-game goal-less skid. He had 23 shots in his next six games and a point in each.

It took just 23 seconds for Connolly to extend his scoring streak to seven games. He won a faceoff back to rookie Tyler Myers, who wired it home for his fourth goal. Connolly's line made it 2-0 just 49 seconds later on a goal by Jochen Hecht.

You're insinuating that Connolly has been playing well of late, or at least that's the inference I draw based on the implication here.

Connolly is the leading scorer and No. 1 center on a division leader. Still, he wasn't seriously considered for the U.S. Olympic team.

Perhaps because the U.S. Olympic Team appears to have been selected by Bucky Gleason. Which, if true, means Connolly stood absolutely no chance.

That says something about his reputation around the league. Evidently, U.S. General Manager Brian Burke didn't have faith that the "real" Connolly would show up in Vancouver.

I'm actually still kind of confused, based on what you've said so far, as to who the "real" Connolly is. You've insinuated that both the injury and scoring drought prone center not worth his contract and the brilliant, creative on ice presence are both valid iterations of the "real" Connolly. And yet, you haven't insinuated which is the preferred iteration.

"They had tough decisions to make," Connolly said. "There's a lot of good players out there,

Unfortunately, most of them are Canadian.

and you've got to build a proper team that they wanted to build. They decided not to take me, and that's all right. I'll cheer [Ryan Miller] now."

It has to sting, though. Connolly has a way of responding to public slights.

Is this why you and Bucky are constantly insinuating, or (on occasion) stating outright, that Tim Connolly is a lousy, good-for-nothing piece of glass that should totally be somebody else's problem for $4.5 million a year? Because you're hoping the public slights insinuate him to play better and produce more?

It could be the Olympic snub inspired him to take his game to a more physically responsible level.

Untrue and impossible. This is not an insinuation, rather an outright statement. But, Connolly's point streak started on December 23rd¹, more than a week before the U.S. Olympic Team was named. From December 23rd to December 29th (the games before the team selections were revealed) Connolly was 3-3-6 and +4 in four games. Pretty good run. Now, he did elevate his game starting on January 1st, after the team announcement (2-5-7, +6 in four games, meaning during his eight game point streak Connolly is 5-8-13 and +10). But he apparently started insinuating himself into the dirty areas to generate more scoring before his "public slight."

Come playoffs, maybe he'll approach his level of '06 and make Burke regret leaving him off the team.

I hope so. If he plays the way Miller did in 2006 after getting foolishly left of the Turin Olympic roster we could make a hell of a playoff run (provided Ryan Miller doesn't self-destruct from overuse).

If Connolly stays healthy, that is. As Ruff said Wednesday, knock on wood.

Come on, low blow. It's hockey, everybody gets injured. You can say that about any player at any time. Crosby, Ovechkin, Connolly, Miller, Brodeur, whomever. Joe Sakic injured himself snowblowing his driveway for crying out loud. Why not, for a change, just enjoy the ride and hope it works out? The Stanley Cup, more often than not, doesn't go to the "best" team. Rather, it goes to the team that makes the playoffs, dodges poor luck with injuries, and manages to string together 16 wins. It isn't easy. Just ask Marian Hossa.

I suppose I should just be grateful that the local hacks are finally conceding that this team is going to make the playoffs. Despite not having playoff talent, so bully for us.

¹ - With a goal!

fire bucky gleason, just say what you freakin' mean edition

Mike Harrington doesn't get called out often here, primarily because he writes about baseball and I don't really care to read much about baseball unless it's something about how great the Phillies are. Yep, I'm that much of a bandwagoning homer when it comes to baseball. But Harrington does occasionally write about the Sabres, and in today's morning skate report we got this nugget:

Overtime has really baffled Toronto, as the Leafs are 1-9 overall and 0-7 in games decided by a goal in the five-minute extra session. The Sabres have two of those wins (Oct. 30 by Tim Connolly here and Dec. 21 by Derek Roy in the Air Canada Centre).

Normally I don't get too picky about a blog, because they're a bit more raw and unedited, so I understand mistakes happen. Sometimes you're thinking faster than your fingers can type, and you don't have the luxury of reviewing and revising enough before posting.¹ But this is a thought that should never have made it into the post. The Leafs² are 1-9 in overtime, and 0-7 in "games decided by a goal in the five-minute extra session." Now, I know he probably means the Leafs Leaves are 1-9 in overtime and shootouts, with that one win coming on a shootout. Thus, they're 0-7 when a goal is scored in the overtime period (thereby precluding a shootout). But the way this is written, the Leafs Leaves have somehow managed to play an overtime game where, incredibly, more than one goal has been scored in overtime. This is a functional impossibility. Overtime is sudden death; as soon as goal is scored, game over. So, kudos to the Leafs Leaves for managing to trick the refs into letting the game go on (three times, too, since they're apparently 1-2 in games in which more than one overtime goal is scored).

I understand there's an argument that more than one goal is scored if it goes to a shootout, but that's not the way it is reflected in the final score. Also, going that far just proves my point that this part is way too confusing and silly to have been posted. Try again, Mike.

¹ - This is, of course, assuming that Bucky's columns get reviewed and revised before being published. I have a strong suspicion they are not.

² - How stupid is it that Toronto goes by the Maple Leafs? You learn in like the third grade that the plural of "leaf" is "leaves." Leafs may sound more fun in a sporting team name sense (nevermind, of course, that for whatever reason Toronto is using a symbol so associated with Canada that they decided to put it on their flag, and then Toronto also decided to completely ignore Canadian colors), but it's incorrect. The Leaves haven't won a Cup since 1967 or something, which I am now dubbing the Curse of Poor Grammar.

fire bucky gleason, total amnesia edition

We've documented here at FBG what can best be termed as a remarkable, and total, lack of any kind of memory about anything Bucky's ever written. In his mind, I doubt he ever contradicts himself. For my world to make sense, I believe that Bucky suffers from the same condition Drew Berrymore had in 50 First Dates. He was in some sort of severe car accident in mid-July of 2007, and can't remember anything from that point on except for today. It would explain why we keep getting the same crap over and over.

Well, except for this, which is probably the closest thing to mea culpa we'll ever get. So I suppose we should appreciate it. michael.w guest posts again. My comments are limited, because I still can't comprehend a complete change of tune like this.

Craig Rivet spent 12-plus seasons in Montreal, more than enough to learn the terrain in the Land of Les Habitants. They appreciated him there for the same reasons he was quickly embraced as captain of the Sabres. Rivet was a good player who provided an honest effort and earned his keep.

"Land of Les Habitants?" Stop it. Please. [Ed's Note: plaschke-nanigans. If you're going to guest post, at least use the lingo.] But it is nice to read that Rivet was appreciated in Montreal for cliched reasons like "effort" and "earning his keep", just like Sabres fans. What they didn't like his "leadership" and what he "brought to the dressing room?"

It's enough to keep critics at a distance, but Rivet found himself in a heap of trouble one year when he ripped Canadiens fans for booing Patrice Brisebois without just cause.

But since they loved him and all his effort and keep earning, the fans were certainly forgiving. That is the impression I get from the paragraph above.

The sentence handed down in the Court of Public Opinion: Rivet was booed every time he touched the puck for the final 10 home games.

Oh.

Six seasons and two teams later, Rivet still hasn't been forgiven in the birthplace of hockey.

"To this day," Rivet said, "I still get booed when I go to Montreal."

So much for his effort.

It's a different animal, Montreal, where rich tradition and passionate fan base are accompanied by intense anger and little patience during seasons like this one. The Habs have won 23 Stanley Cups, none since 1992-93. It marks the longest drought in their storied history. Rivet's biggest crime is being part of their failed past.

Actually they've won 24. It took me ten seconds to verify that. It must be nice to have no professional standards. But at least this minor oversight will be the only problem with this article.

[Ed's Note: Not for nothing, but it appears that Bucky is slamming Habs' fans for a lack of patience. If that's the case, what's his excuse for his attitude towards the Sabres right now? Especially since the "biggest crimes" for most of his whipping posts are really nothing more than "playing for the Sabres."]

With that in mind, you can only imagine how the Canadiens are going over these days. The Habs didn't just lose, 6-2, to the Sabres on Thursday night in HSBC Arena. They were utterly lost for half the game en route to their fourth straight defeat. They showed up for the third period, but it was about two hours too late.

This is not just directed at Bucky, but at EVERY sports analyst. Can we stop with the "show up" and "didn't show up" cliche? Please. The Canadiens showed up. There were several men in Montreal uniforms taking turns on the ice for the first two periods. They just played like crap.

Is this really what their fans wanted? Remember, they pleaded for major changes, and that's what they received. Now, they're stuck with a confused team that has less chemistry than Tiger and Elin.

Yes. This is what the fans wanted. A team that plays like crap. All fans want that. You know what? Miami plays New England Sunday. As a Miami fan, I want them to lose 55 - 0. And I refuse to address the Tiger and Elin reference. It would take too long.

"There's such ultimate pressure to be a great hockey team," Rivet said. "It's not normal like with other teams. It's the Yankees, but the Yankees have the ability to spend as much money as they want to get the best players. In our [salary cap] system, Montreal would be doing it but they can't. So you have to be smart in how you manage the team."

Good point by Rivet about how one must be smart in managing the team. Also, I like Rivet a lot, so I will not get into his misguided comparison to the Yankees. Also, Rivet could, in all likelihood, whip my ass.

General Manager Bob Gainey didn't manage his team. He mismanaged his roster after caving to public pressure. He made the same mistake fans have made for years. He misread the situation and overreacted.

He replaced 13 players when a half-dozen good moves would have been fine.

Hmmm. I remember reading somewhere that the Montreal offseason was a good one. Going so far as to compliment them for be willing to overhaul the roster when something went wrong.

The Habs aren't any bigger or any better. They're just different. Scott Gomez, who scored his third goal Thursday, has 12 points to show for his $8 million salary. Veteran free-agent defenseman Paul Mara is minus-12.

Wow, three goals for Scott Gomez. Puts him exactly one ahead of former Ranger teamate, and the currently equally massively overpaid Chris Drury.

If you're a Sabres' fan, you should appreciate management's decision to take the opposite approach after Buffalo missed the postseason for the second straight season. Fans here were calling for many of the same changes they wanted in Montreal. Fire the coach, dump the GM, unload underachieving superstars, change for the sake of change.

I want to point out, that in a summer diatribe, the Sabres fans were not to appreciate the Sabres management did over the summer. It's in the link above.

Yes, this time doing little or nothing was the right approach. Need evidence? Buffalo had a 3-0 lead in the first nine minutes on goals from Clarke MacArthur, Jason Pominville and Derek Roy — three forwards who have been groomed in Buffalo's system. Each was the result of them properly reading the play and one another.

Nice way to avoid mentioning that Thomas Vanek had three assists in the game, who interestingly enough was also groomed in Buffalo's system. But more shocking is that no mention was made that Tim Kennedy scored a goal. Good restraint.

The Canadiens, meanwhile, weren't sure what they were doing or where they were going. By the looks of things, they're not going anywhere. They're home tonight to officially celebrate their 100-year anniversary with a game against Boston. Their fans will be there waiting for them.

So to conclude, I will call this Bucky's best column ever, despite the shameless 180 and factual issues. He was able to write a full column, and get through it without mentioning any of the following:

- God....errr....Chris Drury
- Tim Kennedy (I have to assume Bucky hears this when he sees Tim Kennedy
- How much Tim Connolly sucks
- [Ed's Note: how much Darcy Regier sucks]
- Why the Sabres should bring Biron back

Impressive work Mr. Gleason.

fire bucky gleason, bucky continues to write stupid things edition

Bucky's constant contradiction is one of the main things that drives me crazy about the fact that he has a job writing about sports. Sportswriters appear to have the free reign of meteorologists: say whatever the hell you want, because just about everybody expects you to be wrong. So, after the colossally dumb love letter to Tim Kennedy, Bucky decides to give us what appears to be a simple lame excuse to slam the Sabres he doesn't like.¹

I only extracted the Sabres portion of Bucky's "Inside the NHL," which could qualify as a smorgasbord. But I don't feel like trying to figure out how dumb Bucky is when he talks about other teams. So this is it for now. I'm sure we'll get plenty more stupidity before the week is out.

You've heard the rhetoric numerous times over the past two-plus years, how the talent is there even when the goals are not,

Maybe because the talent is there, they've just been trying to develop their own identity after the team decided to invest in its youth instead of overpaying aging veterans with deteriorating skills. Maybe?

how every player endures scoring droughts, how they squeeze their sticks before eventually coming around.

Actually, I haven't heard this rhetoric numerous times. In fact, Lindy doesn't really hesitate to call his guys out when he feels like he has to. You know where I have heard this rhetoric though? In the Buffalo News. From you. Remember? When you said it was OK for Tim Kennedy to not score goals because he was on a defensive line that was very good at preventing them and preventing goals is just as important as scoring them? Do you remember that?

Zzzzzzzz. Say it often enough and long enough, and it eventually becomes the truth.

Hmm. Apparently not.

But it wasn't a good sign when Blackhawks grunt Dustin Byfuglien had eight goals, one more than Thomas Vanek had, going into the weekend. Or that Islanders rookie John Tavares, Blue Jackets plumber Raffi Torres and, yes, Thrashers winger Maxim Afinogenov each had nine — the same number that Derek Roy and Jason Pominville had combined.

Alright, if we're playing this game, Thomas Vanek has as many goals as Alex Kotalik and Chris Drury combined. Vanek is also currently has more goals than Joe Thornton and Shane Doan. And Alexander Frolov. Also, you are never allowed to complain about Maxim Afinogenov's production at any point from now until the end of all time.

Yikes.

What's with the "yikes"? Did you finish writing that last paragraph and then realize "Hey, it's really stupid comparing scoring paces 25 games into the season?" You did? Awesome! Progress!

The Sabres have $22.7 million locked into their five-highest paid forwards and through the first 22 games this season they combined for a grand total of 24 goals. It's not exactly the bargain they had in mind for Black Friday.

That's not a pretty hard cap hit, considering what other teams are blowing on their five highest paid forwards. I assume that's the bargain you're talking about, right? Because otherwise I don't understand the Black Friday reference. Once again, the Sabres won on Black Friday. Four goals. Against the Flyers.

In a financial sense, their best players have been their worst.

If that's the case, Montreal and the Rangers (but for Marian Gaborik, whose groin is due to explode any day now) have much worse "best" players.

It needs to change for the playoffs — which bounce from a given one week to a fantasy the next — to remain in reach.

Shenanigans. At no point were the Sabres out of playoff position, even during their absolutely "horrendous" 0-3-1 stretch. Not only do the playoffs remain very much in reach, but if the Sabres simply continue their pace from November they should do no worse than the sixth seed. Perhaps a few crude projections will shed some light here. Buffalo was 7-5-1 in November. Respectable, but by no means torrid. They finished the month with 32 points, and sole possession of the Northeast Division lead. Now, if they maintain that 7-5-1 pace, that projects out to approximately 98 points for the season. Solidly within any playoff bracket. If Buffalo manages to up their pace by one more point (7-4-2 instead of 7-5-1), we're looking at approximately 103 points, or a likely fourth seed. Is this an exact science? No. Can things change? Absolutely. But even with Buffalo's "terrible" week in November which caused you to immediately doubt their ability to play hockey at any kind of professional level ever again (because you're stupid), Buffalo maintained a very strong playoff pace. Got it? Good.

Vanek is making $6.4 million this season, which is $1.6 million less than he was pocketing in the front-loaded $50 million deal he signed while pointing the proverbial tommy gun at the Sabres' collective temple.

This is actually good news. Vanek's cap hit is still pretty high, but now that his actual salary is coming down, we have the opportunity to invest in some young talent, or perhaps give another front loaded contract to a free agent this offseason. Don't forget Chicago's going to have to have a huge firesale to clear space for the players they were supposed to sign weeks ago but still haven't re-upped.

Whether he's injured or disinterested, the pop has been missing almost all season.

But, he leads the team in goals. Does that count for anything?

Tim Connolly

I guess not, since we simply moved in to start whipping Bucky's Least Favorite Sabre.

is making $4.5 million this season, a $1 million raise per year after appearing in about one-third of the games under his previous contract.

A fair criticism. Now, I'm sure you'll point out that Connolly has been in the lineup for each and every single Sabres game this season.

The Sabres insisted he was their guy. But, really, he's the same player who has possessed great talent and produced mediocre results.

Or ignore that fact entirely. He is the Sabres' guy. And is turning into a pretty wise investment, as he leads the team is assists and points. And is scoring at a pace just off a point per game. So, really, I'm looking for the mediocre results of which you speak.

Connolly had one goal in 16 games before his best performance of the season, two goals and two assists against Philadelphia.

During that 16 game stretch, Tim Kennedy had no goals. In fact, up through Philadelphia, Tim Kennedy only had one goal in 22 games. Why the double standard?

OK, so he improved to three goals in 17 games.

By comparison, Tim Kennedy² now has two goals in 24 games. Again, I'm waiting for the explanation of the double standard. Is it based on Connolly's salary? His experience? What? All I know is we're supposed to love Tim Kennedy, who scores at a much slower rate than Tim Connolly, who leads the team in points. I haven't been given a single valid reason for this yet, sir.

He's had his usual flashes of brilliance, confirming he's able but not always willing.

His brilliance is only flashing? What? And his inconsistent goal scoring (which is a far cry from his markedly consistent point production, which means Connolly is helping generate goals, which is kind of important in terms of playing successful hockey I hear) "confirms" he's not willing to play well? Do me a favor. Start reading your columns out loud before submitting them. Maybe then you'll realize how dumb this all sounds. We certainly can't rely on your editor.

Pominville is pocketing Connolly money, getting Clarke MacArthur results.

MacArthur's playing pretty well this season.

Last season was dismissed as a poor year from a good player, but this year has been much the same. In part, his production (five goals) was down because the Sabres lack a power-play quarterback, taking him from the wing. It's also because he's been spending too much time on the perimeter at even strength.

Is this his fault? Or is Lindy not putting Pommers in a position to be successful? Both are equally plausible explanations, yet I have to guess which it is. Thanks.

Jochen Hecht

Oh god...

is making $3.8 million and had four points, putting him on pace for seven goals and 15 points, while averaging more than 16 minutes. Nobody on the team who has played every game has fewer points.

You know who on the team has played the same number of games as Hecht and produced the exact same number of points with half the goals? I'll give you a hint. It rhymes with "Shim Shmennedy." Who, I might add, skates on Hecht's line. Which I was told is not designed to score goals, but rather prevent them. Seeing how the Sabres currently lead the league in goals against, apparently Hecht is playing his role to a T.

Roy, making $3.5 million, needed 11 games to score his first goal, buried four goals in his next five games, fell silent for the next six.

I'm confused. Doesn't this actually prove the exact thesis you present in the opening paragraph? The one you didn't really dispute, but hung out there as a pathetic excuse? Even though you relied on it yourself not two weeks ago?

It's one thing to make big money, another thing to earn it.

This is surprisingly apt. It's one thing to make big money (or whatever money, hopefully it isn't big) writing about sports professionally. It's another thing to earn it by being reliable, accurate, and consistent.

¹ - "The Sabres he doesn't like" obviously consists of all the Sabres except for Tyler Myers, Tim Kennedy, and Patrick Kaleta.

² - I feel like at this point I need another disclaimer. I am actually a Sabres fan. When I follow my sports teams, I prefer to be a bit childlike in that I'll like the guy simply for putting on a Sabres' sweater. I like Kennedy. I know he's young. He's getting some good reviews, but also going through some growing pains. Same goes for Tyler Myers (a team leader in ice time, generating a lot of points from the blue line; embarrassing mistakes like essentially giving Max Afinogenov and Matt Cullen free goals). I'm excited about these guys. But I'm also excited about all the Sabres, including Tim Connolly, who I consider to actually be quite amazing, especially when he gets the puck (one of the "brilliant flashes" was when he froze two Panthers in their skates and then skated through two more during their 6-2 loss--such a hockey play should be criminal). It just happens to be that Bucky is so wildly inconsistent in his analysis, without ever giving any kind of reason, that it drives me crazy. So, unfortunately, Tim Kennedy becomes my whipping boy because we're told to love what he does, which isn't very much when juxtaposed with what the other guys are doing. OK, I feel better.

smorgasbord!

Been a while since I've been able to pull out the smorgasbord tag, as we've mostly had to suffer hockey (with occasional football) commentary. For the past few months I've been suffering. It's been pure agony, wondering "Well, yeah, the Sabres are lousy good lousy good, but what does Bucky think about College Basketball and NASCAR??" Thankfully, he finally scratched that itch. And we all reap the benefits.

In the meantime, I'm enjoying the mental image I have of Bucky watching Tim Connolly hang four points on the board today (including two goals!).

michael.w got to it first, so I added my comments in italics, because they're more important.

Mike Shanahan is taking his time before deciding whether his next coaching job will be in Buffalo, which is good news for the Bills. Shanahan could be stalling while waiting for a better opportunity, but he's also doing a favor for the Bills by giving them extra time to decide if he's the right guy for them.

He's also aware that come early January, there will be about a half a dozen open NFL coaching football positions, as is always the case. Wait, I am breaking down football. Let me rephrase: Come January there will be about half a dozen open coaching positions in the NATIONAL!!!! FOOTBALL!!!! LEAGUE!!!! (That's how you have to say it apparently) [Ed's Note: only if you're Ron Jaworski. One thing we do need to eliminate from the football vernacular is "hat on a hat." You're not bringing us on the inside. You sound stupid.]

But I digress, why should Shanahan take the first offer when several will be available. He could use this as leverage. [Ed's Note: "Leverage" is something everybody needs to keep in mind when they say "Drury and Briere would've stayed in Buffalo for less if only the Sabres negotiated sooner." Which is stupid. If the Sabres offered Drury $25 million for five years, Drury knows his baseline. He can negotiate freely, knowing that's as low as he'll have to go. There's more, but I'm tired and we need to get to more stupid suggestions for the Bills' front office.]

Just about anybody would be an upgrade over Dick Jauron,

Really? How about me?

so it's easy for desperate fans to get excited about a big-name replacement who showed enough interest in Buffalo to have so-called discovery talks. But the Bills just might discover a better candidate.

Nice word play. But I have to call shenanigans. Please cite the movie "Fracture." I am pretty sure that's from where Bucky discovered the discovery/discover word play. Sorry, I did too.

The Bills shouldn't give up in their pursuit of Bill Cowher,

Did anyone say they did?

who said he wasn't yet interested in interviews with teams. It could be interpreted in a few different ways, but it didn't sound like he was slamming the door on Buffalo so much as concentrating on his duties with CBS until after the season.

Seems reasonable. [Ed's Note: Because he probably knows that he can wait as long as he wants. And why take a crappy job for a team that has only about three NFL players and a front office nightmare?]

If that's the case, the Bills should admire him even more for properly handling the situation. Cowher was refusing to compromise his current job by focusing his time and energy elsewhere. That's the kind of person they should want running football operations, including coaching.

Really? He is qualified to be the head coach because he pulled the line that, I don't know, EVERY OTHER PERSON uses in a similar situation? Great, thanks for that. Ignore that Cowher successfully navigated the Steelers through numerous salary cap casualties, crappy quarterbacks and consistently got them deep into the playofffs. That's why I would be interested in him. Not because he readily spews pre-package PR crap. But at least Bucky cannot come up with any other meaningless reasons to hire Cowher.

Shanahan could be a fit, but Cowher would be a better one. He's a Pittsburgh guy, and he understands the charm that comes with a hard-working, passionate football town.

I spoke too soon. [Ed's Note: Stupid. Also, I love how Pittsburgh and Buffalo are the only hard-working, passionate football towns in the country. Shanahan can't possibly understand that after coaching in Denver, where everybody's lazy, apathetic and only follow curling.]

Show him the same enthusiasm he expects from his players, give him power over all personnel decisions, plus $10 million for the effort, and you just might land him.

So long as no one offers him say, $11 million.

Syracuse has made the transition look easy after losing its top three scorers in Niagara Falls products Jonny Flynn and Paul Harris and shooter Eric Devendorf. The previously unranked Orange (5-0) soared to No. 10 in this week's AP top 25 poll after hammering California and North Carolina last week.

Syracuse native Brandon Triche, whose uncle Howard played for SU back in the 1980s, could evolve into one of the nation's top freshmen. SU should be 8-0 going into Florida on Dec. 10 and has enough talent to contend in the Big East. They would have been among the early favorites for an NCAA title had the aforementioned three stuck around.

This paragraph is entered solely to demonstrate Bucky's knowledge that Flynn and Harris are from Niagara Falls, and that Triche is from Syracuse and has an uncle that played at SU. [Ed's Note: This is also really poorly written. The way it's set up, "shooter" is supposed to separate Eric Devendorf from Niagara Falls (where I believe he's not from), but he gets lumped in with Flynn and Harris.]

Obviously, my decision to stagger through a 5K a few years ago still inspires Maura Frauenhofer, the women's winner of the Turkey Trot. Yes, I'm kidding. In the interest of full disclosure, she's my niece.

For the first time in the history of Bucky Gleason columns, we get full disclosure.

Jimmie Johnson made history when he won his fourth straight NASCAR title, but talk about him being the best driver ever is premature if not grossly inaccurate. Johnson is a great driver and a prince, but he's basically the quarterback for the best team. The emphasis was greater on the driver years ago. And that's why Richard Petty remains the king.

Yes, the quarterback of the best team never, ever has been considered the best ever in football. I mean no one has ever asserted that Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw, Peyton Manning or Tom Brady are the best... What?... You mean they have?? My bad. And do we have to compare everything in sports to the quarterback?

Can we agree that Dale Earnhardt Jr. has run out of excuses? He changed teams, crew chiefs and sponsors, and the results have been worse. He has one victory over the past three seasons, hasn't won twice in the same year since 2004 and was 25th in the standings this year.

Especially since Jimmie Johnson keeps winning. Plus I read somewhere that the team surrounding a NASCAR driver is quite important. In fact, the driver was compared to the quarterback in football. Perhaps using that analogy, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is a very good to great quarterback on a dreadfully bad team. For example, Steve Young in Tampa vs. Steve Young in San Francisco. I cannot remember where I read this driver to quarterback comparison. I mean, I know I read it, who... Oh yeah, its the FREAKING PARAGRAPH ABOVE THIS ONE!!!!!

Alex Ovechkin deserved a penalty for boarding when he drilled hometown boy Patrick Kaleta,

Really, Kaleta is from Buffalo? What tidbit of information are you going to tell me next, that Brady Quinn's sister dated A.J. Hawk? That Chad Henne went to Michigan and Brian Hartline went to Ohio State, and those schools are rivals? That Citizen's Bank Park and the "new" Yankee Stadium are hitter friendly parks? I really need to know these things, they are never mentioned.

on Wednesday night, but he shouldn't have been ejected. The Sabres would have been furious had the situation been reversed. If only the Sabres had a top-six forward who played with that much aggression.

OK, I actually agree with Ovechkin not warranting an ejection, and the Sabres lack a top-six forward who plays with such aggression. I am surprised that Ovechkin doesn't have to have a food taster because Bucky would be poisoning his food. Probably because he didn't blow up Tim Kennedy or Tyler Myers. And you know, I am more concerned with the top-six forwards not scoring goals.

Athletes would rally around a bowl of soup for motivation, but don't underestimate the effect UB unveiling its banner for winning the MAC regular-season hoops title had on Canisius. "They could have done it before the first game [an exhibition against Daemen]," Griffs guard Julius Coles said. UB dropped the banner, but Coles dropped the hammer with 26 points in the victory.

OK, I won't underestimate it. Where is Julius Coles from? I am sure not Buffalo, because that would not have escaped mention had it been the case. [Ed's Note: According to Canisius, Julius Coles is from Harlem, but according to Wikipedia he's the president of something called Africare. Also, seriously? They got juiced up because UB hung a banner? Plus, there's only one athlete I can think of who rallies around of a bowl of soup for motivation. That's Donovan McNabb, and only because he was paid handsomely to do so.]